2012-01-24 Select Board Meeting Minutes

MINUTES

Town of Bowdoinham

Select Board Meeting

January 24, 2012 5:30 p.m.

1. Call the Meeting to Order & Establish a Quorum

The meeting was called to order and quorum established by Chairman Hobart at 5:30 p.m. Selectpersons Brian Hobart, Kathy Gallant, Kathy Tome and M. Theresa Turgeon were present. Selectperson Douglas Tourtelotte was absent. Staff present included Town Manager William Post, Assessors’ Agent Ron Beal and Assessing Clerk Dotty Baker. Approximately two members of the public were also in attendance.

Selectperson Gallant stated that these two are her tenants if the Board wished her to abstain from the vote. The Board did not as there is no conflict of interest.

Assessors’ Agent Beal stated that the Tree Growth Penalty is for removing a one acre building lot from the larger parcel. The land is currently in the Farmland program, but because it has been in that program for less than five years, and was in the Tree Growth program previously, the penalty is derived from the higher tree growth program.

Chair Hobart asked if the owners paid a penalty when they moved to the Tree Growth Program to the Farmland Program. Beal stated that there was no penalty as owners can change from the Tree Growth Program to the Farmland Program or Open Space Program without penalty.

Turgeon asked how the penalty was determined. Assessors’ Agent Beal stated that the lowest penalty for removing land from the Tree Growth Program is 20% of the amount that would have been charged if the land was not in Tree Growth.

On motion of Turgeon/Tome, the Board voted 4 – 0 to approve Supplemental Assessment Number 4 for a Tree Growth penalty to Dana Pratt and Christopher Edwards in the amount of $8,774.19.

B. Act on Construction Overlimit Permit for MDOT Paving on Route 201.

The Town Manager stated that MDOT will be putting out to bid a repaving project for Route 201. In order to facilitate the process, MDOT is asking for overlimit permits to allow the contractors to travel on municipal roads with overlimit vehicles. He stated that it is highly unlikely that any will be used in Bowdoinham because of the short length of Route 201 that is in Bowdoinham.

On motion of Gallant/Tome, the Board voted 4 – 0 to approve the agreement to issue construction overlimit permits to the contractor for Project No. STP-1913(000)X which is the shimming and paving of Route 201.

C. Act on Appointment of John McMullen as Harbor Master

The Town Manager stated that this appointment expired on December 31, 2011 and needs to be reappointed until the end of 2012.

On motion of Turgeon/Tome, the Board voted 4 – 0 to appoint John McMullen as Harbor Master for a term ending December 31, 2012.

The Manager stated that the Merry Meeting Arts Center has requested that Lower Main Street be closed to traffic on Saturday, February 4th from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. as there will be a great deal of foot traffic and children that day from River Rd to the Mailly Waterfront Park.

On motion of Gallant/Turgeon, the Board voted 4 – 0 to close Lower Main Street on February 4th from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

5. Discussion Items

Trust Fund Accounts

The Manager stated that he and Deputy Treasurer Janet Smith had finished reviewing and researching the trust funds. In the FY2011 audit report, the Trust Funds owe the Town $31,503.00. Since July 1, 2011, there is an additional $2,144.03 that is owed to the Town from the Trust Funds. For Fiscal Year 2011, the Town budgeted $11,000 as revenue from the Worthy Poor Trust Fund. This was transferred after June 30, 2011, so the Trust Funds now owe the Town $22,647.03. The work that was done previously by Don Gerrish on the interest due to the Trust Funds shows $25,723.02 owed in interest as of May 31, 20011. There will also be additional interest owed from June 1, 2011 to when the corrections are made. However, the Town budgeted $12,000 from the Worthy Poor Trust Fund as revenue for Fiscal Year 2012 (the current year). Therefore, after all the transfers are made, the Trust Funds owe the Town $8,924.01.

Update on Fundraising Group (Kathy Tome)

Select Board member Kathy Tome stated that the fundraising letter is expected to be sent soon. The letter has been revised to not include specific details about the fundraising event since that has not been finalized. The date for the event will be February 26th and will be about three hours with jazz music.

Selectperson Tome submitted a small article in the recent newsletter asking for donations and the Town has received $650 so far in a week. She noted that she is writing a personal thank you to all those that donate.

Maturing Tax Liens

The Manager reviewed the list of maturing tax liens with the Board. The liens will mature on January 30, 2012. It is expected that those with mortgages will be paid by the mortgage holder. However, there may be some on the list that the Board would like to waive foreclosure, such as account 614, which is just a mobile home. The Manager stated that the Board’s 45 Day Redemption Policy, dated 1998, allows the owners to redeem the property for all back and current taxes, plus a penalty, of 25%, although that can be waived by the Board. He suggested that the Board may want to review this policy in light of the economy over the previous several years.

On motion of Hobart/Gallant, the Board voted 4 – 0 to waive foreclosure on account #614 in the amount of $293.92.

The Board asked the Manager to prepare a revised redemption policy for the Board to review.

The Manager stated that Representative Berry asked the Board’s opinion on this bill. Chair Hobart stated that he does not like the Town being told by the State of Maine what they can and cannot do. However, he does not believe that Towns should impose fees on ice fishing shacks either.

Selectperson Tome stated that she does not like shacks floating down the river after the ice melts and that imposing fees or licenses might help eliminate that issue.

By consensus, the Board directed the manager to inform Representative Berry that the members supported home rule authority and opposed the state mandating what municipalities can and cannot do.

Town Manager’s Report

The Town Manager stated that the engine repair/rebuild for the 2001 International will cost approximately $8,000 and should be completed within a week.

He asked the Board if they preferred having draft minutes from the various boards and committees to keep informed, or approved minutes. The issue with approved minutes is that there is usually a delay in receiving them as they need approval first, and most boards and committees only meet monthly. The Board requested draft minutes are available to the Board members to stay current.

The Manager provided revised by-laws for four committees as amended by the Board at their December 13, 2011 meeting. The amendment included deleting language that did not allow Select Board members to serve on committees. The Board signed the by-laws.

Selectperson Turgeon asked about training for the Public Works Foreman. She stated that she was almost involved in an accident after the last storm (the previous Friday). The Manager stated that the Foreman has attended many trainings through the Maine Local Roads Center. Each storm is different and the clean-up after each storm is different.

The Manager stated that the Finance Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for that evening (January 24th) was rescheduled to January 31st at 6:30 p.m.